I was in the hospital about seven weeks ago with a case of pneumonia. Fortunately, I
tested negative for the corona virus. When I was released I was told it would take
“about a month” to recover. Well, that month was up three weeks ago and I still
feel tired. The coughing is almost gone but I feel like I have no energy. I have
spoken to my physician and he as told me that for some people it can take a little longer.
Looking online I found some websites that say it can take as long as six months to recover.
If you have had pneumonia in the past I would be interested in hearing about your
experience. How long did it take you to recover completely?
42 years ago I had “walking pneumonia” - I recovered after two weeks out of school and a course of penicillin. But I was a teen then. I’m sure it would take me longer at my current age.
Had it 2x in about 3 mos. First case sent me to the hospital with tachycardia. They prescribed antibiotics. Felt better for about a couple weeks, then down again, no appetite, energy, couldn’t sleep for coughing. My lovely NP gave me a super heavy dose of antibiotic, that, as she warned me it would, made the pharmacist question it. Also codeine cough syrup and an inhaler. I would ask for more antibiotic, honestly. She said that in her opinion, I had never fully recovered from the first case.
Last time I had pneumonia was about 10 years ago. I wasn’t hospitalized, but it took 2 courses of antibiotics before my lungs were cleared. Took more than a month to be back to normal.
I’ve had it several times. A month sounds about right for the recovery period. The last time it persisted and I was eventually put on steroids for several weeks. If you’re still coughing after 7 weeks, you should be re-evaluated. You may need something for lung support (inhalers or steroids), or you may need further treatment to knock down the pneumonia.
IANAD. This is based on my experience.
Last year I’m pretty sure I had a case of walking pneumonia, I didn’t feel good for close to two months and had to take NyQuil at night to get any sleep. I never went to a doctor though.
In 2013 I was in the hospital with pneumonia for 8 days (in my mid-30s). I’d say the recovery time afterwards was a month or two, but frankly I wouldn’t say I 100% recovered at all, in terms of lung capacity etc. Although that’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing.
About five years ago I had a case. Never went to the hospital, but coughed so hard I passed out twice. Took about a week and a half to recover.
I had a case of pneumonia in my 20s, when I was living in Scotland. It was mild - mostly just a horrible cough that went on and on and fucking on forever - but it did also seem to take forever to clear up completely.
So, based on my not-entirely-reliable multi-decade-old memories, six months doesn’t seem out of the way, but probably in a “gradual barely noticeable improvement for the next six months” kind of way, not “another six months of feeling just as crappy as you do right now” kind of a way
I had a case of this during military training. It began with an antibiotic resistant sinus infection. I’m allergic to penicillin, so I got a Z-Pac. Didn’t make a dent in it. Then they did a series of tetracycline injections I had to go in for every day (it makes me throw up), coupled with a less likely antibiotic for a sinus infection, but one they hoped would work with the tetracycline. I was also on an inhaler.
I was getting better, but too slowly.
They took a chest x-ray. There was fluid in my lungs, but not enough to hospitalize me. They actually thought walking around in the warm weather would be good for me, and got me issued extra pillows so I could sleep upright. I was dismissed from all PT, but my captain decided that I could walk around the track in the morning. The morning air was cold and damp. I told my physician about it, and he sent back a note that I was already on a profile that included walking in warm weather, and I was to stay out of damp, cold air.
I’d had a flu shot, but they put me on some kind of anti-viral because at that point even a cold would have hit me pretty hard, and sticky fluid in my lungs made me vulnerable. They put me on an expectorant, and after some of the the fluid had dissipated its own, they had me sleeping flat again, to get the fluid to drain. They warned me I might wake up coughing, and if I felt like I needed to be in the hospital to call.
I did wake up a couple of time coughing up nasty gunk, but I was OK. I’m a light sleeper. Also, because I was pretty tired, I was going to bed right after chow (about 1750, or 5:30pm, for you civilians). I had to be up at 0430 for formation, but then, because I didn’t have to do PT, I went back to bed for another hour. This meant if I had a coughing fit at night, I didn’t lose sleep over it, because there was plenty of time to spare. It was actually some of the best night’s of sleep I’d had in the military.
It took about three weeks to get over it. Three weeks, four different antibiotics. I ended up finishing on a low dose of a penicillin related-antibiotic I’m not supposed to take (allergies), coupled with some powerful anti allergy drugs, so I actually spent an afternoon in a hospital bed waiting to see if it would work. This was on top of the inhaler, the oral pill for bronchial dilation, the prescription decongestant, the steroids, and the expectorant. They gave me one of those little boxes with the compartments to keep all my pills straight. My appetite was down, so they also had me on a multivitamin and a Boost every day.
So that’s what happens with walking pneumonia, in the military, when they treat it aggressively. They might be gentler somewhere else, or more inclined to hospitalize you, but they didn’t want to hospitalize me as long as they were certain I wasn’t contagious, so that I wouldn’t miss training days, and get put back a class, thus graduating a week or two late.
Oh-- I forgot: total time from the onset of the sinus infection to the withdrawal of the last drug, and a return to normal activities, was one month, but the time I carried the official diagnosis of “walking pneumonia” was probably 2.5 weeks. In the beginning, I was just “Nasty sinus infection,” and the last few days were probably “convalescent.” For the Thursday, Friday, and a weekend, I did have to do any running, only sit-ups and push-ups for PT; I could go to class and chow, but I was not to be assigned weekend duty “to avoid coming into contact with allergens”-- legitimate-- bad grass allergies. And I was to be allow extra sleep time, which meant NO CQ duty or fireguard. (Don’t everybody cheer at once!!!)
Going to sick call the first day with that sinus infection was interesting. They took my temp, it was 102’F, and they said “Hey! We’ve got one who’s actually sick!”
About a month. I had ‘walking pneumonia’, I was 20, and I was in the best shape of my life. I was in the campus health center for a month.
I am prone to pneumonia, lightest case I was hacking gloop for a week, I was actually in patient for something else so they could be aggressive with the medications [I am allergic to a lot of different antibiotics] and it was about 3 or 4 weeks before I felt 100 percent. Worst case was 6 months, in and out of the hospital, and another 3 or 4 months before I felt 1-- percent. YMMV, it all depends on your overall health, ability to take random medications.
I had Pneumonia when I was 44 and it took me a month to get back to work. And then a few weeks more to really recover.
I had it in my early 30s, when I was athletic and very healthy. It took me at least 2 months to recover from a relatively mild case (never hospitalized). I remember being shocked at how little energy I had and how long that state lasted. I was used to pretty grueling workouts, but I would be completely wiped out by walking from one end of the house to the other.
My dad had pneumonia, bronchitis and Influenza A the last week of February (so a month or so before you?) He was in the hospital for 5 days but I think 3 of those days were alcohol detox. Dude’s got COPD and emphysema too.
Anyway, did you have any physical therapy? Dad had someone come to the house a couple times a week for…a month? The guy had him walk slowly up and down the hallway and then the driveway. Dad also had to do these things himself and keep a log of his O2 levels.
I can’t tell you exactly how long it took for him to feel better, as I’m not him. But I can tell you he started mowing the lawn 4 weeks ago, and generally seemed to have more color in his cheeks and more pep in his step. That was pretty much 2 months after his release. But he’s 70, had an extended hospital stay, PT, and generally feels like shit all the time. I’m hoping your situation is different.
I al pretty sure his doctor told him it’d be 2 months. But of course that’s with dad’s special circumstances.
I actually recovered more quickly than the doctor was saying might be the case. She was saying I might have a dry cough that lingered for several months, but I think it only took about a month for my energy to return and my lungs to recover.
Since you mention feeling tired, one thing worth considering is whether this is really due to pneumonia, or due to a change in your schedule. I don’t know the specifics of your situation, but I do know a lot of people who normally work outside of the home have been staying in the house for the last few months. If you’re used to being more active in your normal day-to-day activities, some of the lethargy may be due to a lower activity level than what your body is used to.
ETA, since I see some other people provided more identifying details: I was in my early thirties when I got it. Treated for it in the ER twice, the ER nurse offered to admit to the hospital but didn’t require it and I declined. I was in good health and worked out regularly, but I was in a really bad state physically and mentally because my husband had left me for another woman six weeks prior and I hadn’t been eating properly.
I’ve had it a few times. It always took about a month to recover. I remember once when I called the doctor’s office to ask why I wasn’t feeling better yet. The nurse told me I should try to walk a little bit each day, even if just around the block. I answered, “the ***entire ***block?!?!” That’s how tired and weak I was.
Edit: I want to add, try to avoid taking fluoroquinolones if prescribed. They did a number on me, on top of the pneumonia I came down with tendonitis in both Achilles’ tendons, meniscus in one knee, and tinnitus. Fortunately they all resolved after I got off the meds.
In my mid 20s I was extremely fit, but had pneunomia diagnosed late. I was off work for 3 weeks, but once the antibiotics kicked in I was fine. I was back running 2 weeks later.
In my late 40s I got it again. I was working from home and had no time off work.